Remi Tohno (b.1992, Japan)

I believe art is salvation.

Sometimes we feel life is hard.

But we can receive the sense of security,

the echoes of your invocation and warmth from artwork.

My work centres around themes of emotion and memory, exploring personal and collective anxiety and trauma, aiming to draw between the individual and the universal. Influenced spiritual practices such as Buddhism and Shintoism, as well as Romantic and Abstract Expressionist art traditions which adopt simplicity and minimalist expression.

I am interested in the process of conceptual art and its relationship to the spiritual. The work endeavours to create a void and space where the viewer can explore the work's quintessence in relation to their own emotions and experiences. Here the work can be experienced as meditative and therapeutic.

I work with a variety of both two-dimensional and three-dimensional processes, often using photography and text. The result is often presented as an installation, this involves playing with the space and allowing the viewer to be immersed in the work.

Education

2019–2021 – BA (Hons) Fine Art: Sculpture and Environmental Art, The Glasgow School of Art, UK

2017–2018 – International Foundation Programme, The Glasgow School of Art, UK

2012–2015 – Fine Art, JOSHIBI College of Art and Design, Japan

Solo Exhibitions

2024 – Awkward Deep Breath, ART TRACE GALLERY, Tokyo, Japan

2023 – As Serenity Calls Your Name, Acntricspace, Shanghai, China

Selected Group Exhibitions

2025 – ART TRACE GALLERY 2004–2024, ART TRACE GALLERY, Tokyo, Japan

2021 – Glasgow Open House Arts Festival – TV Dinner, Online

2021 – The Alternative Degree Show Festival, RogArt Street Campus, Glasgow, UK

2021 – Emerging Artist Exhibition, Online

2020 – Inevitable Mash, Studio Pavilion, Glasgow, UK

2019 – Mewantemooseicday 2019, Tax Hall, Glasgow, UK

2019 – Senlis Sacred Art Festival, Senlis, France

2015 – The Degree Show, JOSHIBI College of Art and Design, Tokyo, Japan

Residency

2023 – Acntricspace, Shanghai, China

Projects

2020–2021 – The View from the Window: workshops, publication & artist talk, Project Ability, Glasgow, UK

2015–2021 – The Wee Days: low-resolution snapshot project (Japan & Scotland)

2015 – The Archive of Happiness: participatory installation with disposable cameras, Tokyo

Publications

2021 – The View from the Window, Project Ability, Glasgow (online publication)

2021 – GSA & Re-Connect Nature Project, Project Ability Blog, Glasgow

2021 – April Publication, The Student Gallery